


Miserable Together

by lovingThatLemonyGoodness



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Bittybones (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Swapfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underfell (Undertale), Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Eating Disorder Not Otherwise Specified, Eating Disorders, F/M, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Racism, Social Anxiety, Swapfell Sans (Undertale), Underfell Papyrus (Undertale), Underswap Sans (Undertale), Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-02 08:18:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16783186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovingThatLemonyGoodness/pseuds/lovingThatLemonyGoodness
Summary: You've just gotten out of a rocky relationship. You don't have a single friend.And now monsters are real. Great.You're a bad person though, you know you deserve whatever life throws at you. You've all but given up, somewhat content in your piece of shit appartment with a job you hate... All until you end up getting a bitty... And another one starts to just... Show up.Neither of them are good people either. Guess you can be miserable together.





	1. Beginning Of The End

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Black as Pitch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14520480) by [YinYanChan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YinYanChan/pseuds/YinYanChan). 
  * Inspired by [Black as Pitch](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14520480) by [YinYanChan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/YinYanChan/pseuds/YinYanChan). 



> Yo so this is my first fanfic so... Have at? Idk if it's any good or whatever but I just love this kind of dark, love triangle vibe so I had to give it a go!

"...this will be the fourth incident this month, people are wondering when the police will finally start to crack down on-"  
_click_ "...isolated incidents. To generalise an entire species because-"  
_click_ "...dangerous! They've proven themselves to be a risk for the population as a whole and-"  
_click_ "...more and more rights are being granted and with the new laws-"  
_click_ "... won't be as much violence soon if we try and work together-"  
_click_

The screen went black as you finally turned off the TV. You should honestly take a break off of media in general; these people cared more about a sensational title than reporting on anything with integrity. That had always rubbed you the wrong way, the way those reporters wrote drivel and somehow maintained the audacity to attach their name to it. You shivered in disgust and put you shoes on. You had to leave for work in a few minutes.

You plucked up your computer from the otherwise barren makeshift coffee table, or in other words, an empty cardboard box, before you and opened that instead.  
A quick look at Twitter and you knew what had really happened: 32 deaths was the real cost Undercity was paying because of its new residents. The city seemed to be slowly rotting for the past year and a half. Ever since that faithful day where you had peered out of the kitchen at the computer screen your now ex-boyfriend was staring at, everything had gone wrong. Your other half had been glaring at the screen with both rapt interest and unabashed fear, that along with the weight you felt on your chest had cemented your belief that that day was going to be bad. Every phone in the house had been ringing over and over, the soundtrack to your misery as what turned out to be some of the most confusing months of your life began.

That was perhaps the only time in history that reporters had been honest. For once they didn't need to lie: "Monsters crawl out of mountain" was enough of an attention grabbing title by itself.  
You hadn't believed it for the longest time. Despite seeing the "monster ambassador"- the rather ambitious title of the possibly kidnapped kid standing up for them- alongst some admittedly realistic looking goat weirdo who called himself the "King of Monsters" and looked absolutely terrifying, you just didn't believe the evidence. For the entire first year, when the creatures had been in containment, whilst governments all around the world decided the species' fate, you were convinced it was fake. Maybe some elaborate hoax? Crazy religious group that had gotten their hand on some seemingly very advanced special effects?  
If you had been rational, you would have noticed how these explanations made even less sense than what all those detestable reporters were spouting. However, you weren't rational at the time, not in the slightest. Whilst your boyfriend was already going a mile a minute in his head, you were just lost.  
Zane, that had been his name, had been making plans.  
"So if I take on a night shift twice a week and-"  
In the months that he'd been trying to find a way out, he'd somehow left you behind in his planning.  
"...with the way politics are now, it's only a matter of time before they start moving in. They're gonna- fuck!"

All the while, you listened distractedly to his insane ramblings, occasionally nodding along or humming noncommittally.  
As the year went on and the world inexplicably moved on from the fact that living, breathing monsters were no longer just the stuff of nightmares, you ended up growing apart. Zane had been all too bothered attending his anti monster integration meetings to bother about little old you. Gone were the unexpected dates and charming domestic moments. Zane wanted out, away from this city that was all too close to Ebott Mountain, the place those "hell creatures" had crawled out of. He had a point: Undercity was a terrifyingly short 10 minute drive from the mountain.  
Maybe Zane had been onto something when he'd wanted to move away. From what him and his new buddies were saying, being near such dangerous creatures should be the last place you would want to be right now... but you stayed.

Besides, you would have to find a new job if you left and honestly that would just be a pain. You rather stay miserable here than to go to all that bother and just find misery elsewhere. So you'd stayed. Zane had left. And you were okay. Breakups happened. People moved on. You were okay.

The work you'd stayed for paid, sure, but it didn't pay well. When you'd studied law for thankless years in your reputable university overseas, you had been investing in your future. You'd pictured tailored suits, glamorous dinner parties with rich colleagues and finally moving up in the world. The reality was underwhelming, to say the least. Your shitty office where you talked to shitty colleagues with an even shittier boss wasn't what all those years of blood, sweat and tears should have been for. Said shitty boss was always peering over your shoulder to remind you that you were behind on some asinine task that you were overqualified for...

Suffice to say you didn't like your life right now.

Little did you know how much your life was about to change because Bitchface, your youngest and least convincing blonde colleague, was walking through the door with a little blue thing on her shoulder. She whisked in, 32 minutes late, in a flurry of charming smiles and rushed greetings. Her suit's collar was just the slightest bit lobsided and her foundation had obviously started melting off by the look of her ever-so-slightly shiny forehead. Yet, despite that, no one had unceremoniously placed a whole pile of papers on her desk for her to do even if it wasn't supposed to be her job in the first place. You glared at that very same pile of papers that had mysteriously appeared on yours overnight and grumbled when you noticed the hand writing. Fucking Paul...

You couldn't help the hatred you felt at that moment. In fact, you were so caught up in self-pity that you barely noticed 5'11 fake blonde who had decidedly planted herself before your desk.

"Sweetie?" She called everyone that. "I'm so sorry to bother you! Listen, my little guy here had a fever and I couldn't get a babysitter and my roommate had to go out with Aaron and my sister just happened to be out of town at the moment and I simply couldn't-"  
She was rambling. Ugh. You just looked up at her and asked her to cut to the chase.  
"I'm so sorry to push this on you but I need you to look after my little guy here while I go into a meeting." her sacharrine voice finished.  
To illustrate her point she cupped her hands around the blue thing on her shoulder and delicately placed it on your messy desk. You still hadn't quite made out what it was, a massive blue fluffy blanket hid everything except for a little spot of white. You squinted your eyes and moved closer trying to see what in the name of- 

You let out a little squeak right at the same time as the tiny wide-eyed skeleton did. 

By the time you tore your gaze away from the thing, Bitchface was already dumping a pile of miniature items on your desk.

"Why are you giving me that thing?" You finally croaked out.

For the first time in the five years you'd known her, your blonde colleague looked less than happy. If you'd known her better you would have recognized the expression that flashed across her face as outrage and anger but she quickly put her yes-of-course-you-can-speak-to-the-manager smile back on. The sweet voice was back too but now with an underlying frustration.

"He" She stressed this word more than was necessary. "is a Blue Bitty. Like I said, he's sick but he's a real sweetheart. Normally he'd introduce himself to you but he ain't really up to it right now, sweetie. This adorable little guy's name is Prince and you'll be making sure he's alright for the next four hours while I get through this mess."  
Her voice softened significantly before this last bit:  
"Please, I... I know you don't like me but I just need him to be okay. He means alot and I couldn't leave him in our appartement by himself, not in this state."

I looked back at the shivering creature. Something deep within me that I'd long forgotten was awoken. The girl's pleading tone and the Blue's dazed face stirred that deep instinct we all harbour within us and so I answered.

"Yes."

***You were filled with Kindness**


	2. Prince Charming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back bitches!!!! This chapter was pretty fun to write but I'm worried I might be making the progression too fast and all but like DAMNIT I WANNA GET TO THE GOOD BITS
> 
> Oh and I'm still low-key freaking out that people actually read chapter 1??? And left kudos??? And comments and ahhhh I love you guys thank you so much!

Checking your email in an attempt to distract yourself from your present situation proved fruitless. Not only was it only demoralising you further- those 20 new emails that had appeared in the span of mere minutes were decidedly not what you needed right now- but you weren't even successfully ignoring the little blue ball of fluff on your desk.

Another two meetings to plan with some other members of the team, Paul had stolen a pretty interesting case from you and apparently one of your office's top lawyers was in trouble for tax evasion. Besides all of that, you hadn't even gotten really started on that looming pile of papers. 

You stealthily stole a glance at the blue covered wheezing form and immediately looked away.

A small chunk of that pile had been sent right back where it came from, accompanied with a little post-it note that reminded the person who'd tried to pawn their work off on you that accountancy wasn't exactly your expertise. It wasn't even your department! God you were wasting so much time.

A particularly loud cough was what drew your attention this time.

Not your problem, you reminded yourself. As long as it didn't die, everything was fine. You forced yourself to take a deep breath and calm down. You wouldn't make any progress if you spent the whole day like this. You let your fingers aggressively type with the practised nervous energy that only those who were routinely overworked truly mastered.

However your calm was short lived as the whooping cough started again. This time you didn't even try to be discreet as you looked with brows twisted into a cocktail of fear and puzzlement. 

"What do-"

"PLEASE-"

You'd both started at the same moment somehow and promptly stopped to let the other talk, a heavy, uncomfortable silence immediately settled. After what felt like years, a little white head poked out of the soft blue blanket and started talking shakily:

"MACKENZIE, SHE UMM..." It's voice cracked and so did its somewhat confident seeming demeanor. "She left some medicine that should help."

The monster said it like a question. You couldn't even attempt to hide how panicked you were. It didn't seem threatening. You should probably help it. But what if it hurt you or something? Zane had precisely warned you against this type of situation: "Before you even know it they'll be talking and walking around like they're supposed to be here". And, of course, that statement was usually followed with an explanation of why they were so dangerous. We were just supposed to believe they came out of some random mountain, that they survived centuries of confinement?... On the other hand, believing that they had in fact came from Mount Ebott was actually quite a bit more worrying in a way. If the creatures had suffered for so long as they claimed then why were they even pretending to be peaceful? 

You'd been so caught up in your paranoid thoughts that you didn't notice the way the little blanket was no longer huddled around the odd creature. The little feet could be heard making their way across your mess of a workspace. It's only when a little dull thud drew your attention that you noticed the cape clad skeleton attempting to scamper towards the, still untouched, pile of miniature supplies.

"What are you doing?" 

It came out way harsher than you'd expected.

"Mackenzie left some stuff and well... You didn't seem to be listening to me..." Its voice came out shakily. Then it seemed filled with a sudden determination as it finished what it was saying. "SO I DECIDED TO DO IT MYSELF!"

The weak monster stood to its feet slowly and carefully before attempting to puff out its chest. Its chest- ribcage?- was rising and falling too rapidly to look any way other than pitiful. The anime shirt it wore was big, baggy and absolutely drenched in what had be sweat. Speaking of it, his entire body was covered with its sheen which begged the question of:

"How are you so sweaty?" You realised you'd said that out loud just a second too late.

You were mentally praying that you could just drop dead right now until- it was blue? Prince's face seems to be nearly glowing with an otherworldly cerulean shade and its eye sockets were completely void. You hadn't even really noticed the mysterious little pinpricks of light that mimicked pupils until they were inexplicably gone. Now it looked downright creepy. It looked dead. You couldn't have supressed the shiver that ran down your back if you'd tried. 

You wordlessly grabbed the monster and put it down beside the pile of miscellaneous items it had been heading towards. You immediately snapped your head back to the screen; you had 6 new emails.

Your hand was shaking. You couldn't quite figure out what that was. After you touched Bitchface's pet, your hand felt like it was buzzing, like something in the air had just changed, like light waves suddenly became tangible. It made no sense.

Everything Zane had said to you about monsters was rushing back. Magic could be dangerous to humans, right? Was that what this was? Were you going to be okay? You felt the urge to rush to the bathroom and scrub your hands clean. But for some reason you felt compelled to make sure Prince was okay. You couldn't just... leave it by itself? Well... You could... What if you just slipped out really quick, nothing would happen to it in a few minutes, right?

The pained groan that came from the left of your desk made your mind up for you.

You finally turned towards the little sickly monster that was sitting atop your desk. 

"Are you okay?"

It was facing you in an instant and the little spots of light emanating from its eye sockets were back. They were still hazy and and unfocused- though it was beyond you how light could even portray emotion like that- but were now shaped like two tiny little rounded stars. How odd that it could change their shape like that...

"OF COURSE I'M FINE! NEVER BETTER!" You weren't exactly convinced but didn't have time to interject. "WORRY NOT, SCARED HUMAN!" 

You felt awkward at that but it wasn't exactly wrong. You thought of asking again but settled for a semi-smile that looked more like a grimace than anything else. The silence that fell around you both was immediate and suffocating. With none of the loud clacking from your outdated keyboard left to fill the silence and no way for you to distract yourself without making a point of looking away from your desk's new inhabitant, you felt unbearably out of place. You felt somehow compelled to keep taking to it but simultaneously never wanted to look at it again. It reminded you of death and feeling oddly sympathetic for such a scary and incredibly dangerous creature was confusing you to no end. 

You ended up just sort of picking at your nails as Prince got on with what it made its way across the desk to do. It went searching through the pile and eventually pulled out the tiniest pill imaginable along with a bottle cap. A little triumphant "aha!" Could be heard as it held both things high above its head before placing the bottlecap back down in front of you. 

"THE MAGNIFICENT PRINCE WOULD LIKE SOME WATER PLEASE!" It was standing straighter than earlier, hands on its hips. Its teeth had somehow stretched into the semblance of a smile. It was odd..not really creepy, just kind of weird. 

As soon as the words registered, you jumped into action. A quick search through your handbag later, you were carefully pouring a few drops of water into the bottlecap. It immediately swallowed the tiny antibiotic and sighed in relief. In an instant, it had plopped down on your desk, tiny eye-lights already the slightest bit clearer.

The big fluffy blue blanket at the other side of the desk caught your eye. Without a thought, you picked it up and placed it carefully on the monster's shoulders, this time making sure not to actually touch the skeleton.

"WHY ARE YOU SO SCARED OF ME?" 

The words were so straightforward that you didn't have time to stop the words before they were already making their way out your stupid mouth.

"You're a real life monster! How am I supposed to not be scared? You have magic and shit and Jesus! fuck-"

Growing up near a reserve had taught you to never show your fear to dangerous animals. You don't run, you don't turn your back, you don't shrink in on yourself, you don't let them smell your fear. Somehow in your panic, all those instincts that had been ingrained in you because of the all too real threat of bears and mountain lions when you grew up just flew out the window. Might as well have presented your throat to it. If Prince was planning on hurting you, well, it now had the upper hand. Not that it hadn't before what with the magic and all but well-

"I'M NOT GOING TO HURT YOU, OKAY?" Its tone got slightly more tentative as it finished. "I'M SORRY."

For some unknown reason, you believed it. It looked at you with pity and somehow furrowed its brow- brow bone?

"IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, THE MAGNIFICENT PRINCE WOULD BE HAPPY TO ANSWER!"

It had barely finished its sentence and your traitorous mouth was already going a-mile-a-minute.

"How did you drink water?"

You shut your mouth just a second too late as the question was already hanging in the air. The intriguing creature looked taken-aback and then completely over-joyed.

"OH WELL MY BODY PROCESSES FOOD INTO MAGIC."

What?

The look on your face must have prompted Prince to continue because before you knew it you were getting a speed course on bitty- that's what the species was apparently called- biology. That conversation devolved into the cultural significance of puzzles and somehow ended with a rant about how anime was impacting the world for the better.

Needless to say, you never did get around to answering those 26 emails.

A full 3 hours later, you heard the sound of Bitchface's heels making their way to your office. She sounded in a hurry. As she made her way through your door, you got to see her looking even more frazzled than usual. The meeting must have been important... you should have been in there instead of her damnit!

However, before you had the time to devolve into your inner hateful and frustrated rantings, she spoke up.

"Prince! You okay, sweetheart? I'm back! Did you do anything while I'm gone?" At that last question, Blondie looked at you suspiciously.

"OH YEAH! IT WAS GREAT! I MADE A NEW FRIEND!" 

That last bit had both you and your unbearable colleague looking equally surprised.

The only sound of protestation that came from you was a short "huh?". The little skeleton was now waiting with an arm outstretched, looking like it was waiting for a handshake. You didn't really want to touch the thing again but you decided to not leave it hanging and outstretched your index finger. Perhaps it was only your imagination but the buzzing didn't feel quite as unpleasant this time.

The blonde bombshell had packed all the things that had been strew across your desk back into her briefcase in mere seconds and went to cradle her pet in her hands in order to put it back where it belonged, perched on her shoulder.

"Thank you." She said sincerely and, before you had the chance to say the obligatory "your welcome", she was striding out into the hallway.

The last thing you saw as she left was the little skeleton on her shoulder. Prince had turned around. 

He was smiling at you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You cannot imagine how much effort I was putting into trying to call Prince an "it"!! I kept accidently typing he and arrgghhhhhh 
> 
> Please comments if you have anything to say! Positive or negative!!! I'm always open to criticism


	3. Teamwork

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eyyyyy guess updates will be bi-weekly??? I wanted to make this chapter longer but then idk I realised that it was gonna end up at like 7000 words and I wanna keep updates in the 1500 to 3500 range

You let out a pained groan and tore your gaze away from the carnage in front of you as you heard the ominous dark chuckle.

"I TOLD YOU I WOULD BE MERCILESS." came the foreboding tone.

You never should have trusted the monster. He was dangerous. Everything would be over soon, the dust would settle and it all would be done for. It was as good as over- no! You couldn't let him win without putting up a fight and so you did the only thing you could think of. 

By the way his sockets had gone blank, you knew your prolongued fight had all been in vain. After a few seconds, his little eye lights were back, eerily focused as he went to finish you off. 

His hand outstretched deliberately and you barely had the time to see a wide smile etch into his face before he ended it.

"CHECKMATE."

And just like that the concentrated silence was broken.

"How?" You let your head fall to your desk in a show of frustration. "I practised since last time! How are you still winning?" You said that last bit with reproach but Prince just laughed.

He reassuringly patted the hand that was still clutching the few pawns you'd taken from him. Meanwhile, on his side, there was pretty much every one of your pieces.

Besides, of course you lost. You weren't in a chess mood today. You'd said so as much, that was why you'd brought a jigsaw puzzle in the first place but no, Prince always got his way. 

In spite of your best efforts, you couldn't quite convince yourself that he hadn't absolutely crushed you. You were just about to attempt to sound sportsman-like, say "good game" or something as equally meaninglessly while you inwardly cursed the smug skeleton... But he was still loudly celebrating his victory. The little victory dance he was doing was making you want to murder the guy... And also hug him. He was really cute, okay? It's hardly your fault for falling for his puppy dog eyes.

"You having fun there?" You hadn't even hear her walk in. "I wonder how you ended up here, huh?" 

The smile could practically be heard in her voice as the blonde stage-whispered to your (still very much obnoxiously triumphant) adversary. Little stars formed in his eye sockets as he followed the loving voice to its source. 

"MACK!" He greeted with palpable enthusiasm.

You got on with putting away the board and methodically arranging the pieces for your next rematch while the two talked about something or other.

In the past few months, Prince had become a frequent visitor of your always very crowded desk and a most welcome addition. You still found it somewhat unbelievable that you'd come to overlook his monster status. After meeting you initially when he'd been sick, you had become what basically amounted to a babysitter for the little guy. Blondie has somehow decided that your dull and often overlooked existence was the answer to any problem she might have with her bitty. From any time Prince felt sufficiently bored at home to want to bug you instead, to the time when his Pet rock had disappeared and he'd been in mourning for days on end, he would get dumped on your desk by an increasingly perplexed owner. 

Talking about nothing and everything had been the only thing keeping the both of you from awkward silences while you worked. For three whole months, Prince had brought upon himself the burden to attempt to have a conversation with you. You'd definitely been unfair to your small friends at first, only answering the shortest and dryest way possible along with instantly shooting down questions you judged too personal. 

You'd tried many times since then to pinpoint the exact time when the rapport between the both of you started to shift. When had you started asking the questions first? When did it become obvious that your skeleton friend was simply grasping at straws to find an excuse to hang out with you? Mostly you couldn't help but wonder exactly when the conversation had flowed naturally between the both of you or how the subjects had morphed from boring and safe to completely ridiculous. You couldn't hold in the smile that graced your lips as you remembered some of your own admissions in those talks. Let's just say that the skeleton was, unsurprisingly, horrified by your reading habits. Seeing his skull turn shades of blue and then blanch- if a being made of bone could do such a thing- had made your confession absolutely worth it.

It had been a while since you'd been able to talk to someone like this.

By the time you snapped back to reality, the caped skeleton had been waddling out of your office, presumably to get himself another espresso from your floor's coffee machine. Why your already hyper friend needed such an incredible amount of caffeine remained a mystery.

Your inner musings only served as a brief diversion from the current, presumably unpleasant situation. Your colleague had sat down on the chair across from you, back straight and smile as perfect as ever. It's only when she leaned forwards that all the armour came off. 

Putting her elbows on the table, she exhaled and deflated.

"How do we always end up like this?" She ran a hand through her long locks.

This exact situation had happened so many times. Bitchface would come in, usually just when her bitty was in here with you but, sometimes, when you were just by yourself. All of these times ended terribly, either by you putting your foot in your mouth or because she decided she had her fill of seeing you squirm. You didn't know how to engage with her. You'd never known how to deal with pretty people. 

"Sweetie, can you please stop looking like that?" She reproached in a tone that was harsher than usual. Usually she wasn't that franc with people, it's why she'd been moving up the ranks so quickly. She had a great poker face... Which just made how she was acting now all the more suspicious.

"I... sorry." That was more than you'd said to her in weeks and she looked simply ecstatic.

"A- anyway" It was her turn to look unnerved by you. "I need your help." She spit out that last word in disgust.

Okay. Of all things, you hadn't expected that. If there was one thing your colleague didn't do was ask for help, not from you, not from anyone. She was a complete hot head when she was working on any case and wouldn't accept the interference, usually called "helpful hints" given to her by the senior lawyers.

You didn't know whether to be flattered or scared that she was asking you of all people. The only other time you could recall her collaborating on a case had been when she'd been forced too. Rumours had flourished according to which she'd been rude to an assistant and HR immediately demanded she try and become a team player. You'd never seen her work herself as hard as on that case, presumably to make her involuntary partnership come to an end as soon as possible.

She was gorgeous and incredibly independant to the point of being downright mean-spirited. So the question was only logical.

"What the fuck?" You weren't too skilled at sounding professional.

"LANGUAGE!" Instantly came the scandalized voice. 

"Sorry." You only barely acknowledged his return before settling your gaze on Bitchface and amping up the professionalism. "So, Mrs Cherkasov, you were asking for my help."

Cherkasov looked like she'd just tasted a particularly bitter lemon but bit back whatever she was planning on saying.

"Yes. I need someone who cares enough to put effort into this. See, I picked up a new case. There's not much money involved so others aren't interested." Before you had the time to cut in, she silenced you with a hard glare. "I've asked."

She was taking her time, that was for sure. It could only be bad if she was taking this long to get to it.

"Spit it out." She wasn't put off in the slightest by your straightforward demand.

"I'm getting to it, sweetie." And she apparently wasn't put off in the slightest by your impatience either. "It's about bitties."

Prince was back with his fourth espresso of the day and you could see him gauging your reaction carefully from your corner of the room. From his unchanged demeanor, you knew with absolute certainty that he knew exactly what was going on.

"A bitty wants to sue its owner." Now that surprised you. The way your eyes widened with shock had apparently pleased Blondie whose smile tugged at the corner of her lips.

"Bring the papers."

She left in a whirlwind with barely concealed excitement at the prospect of the case.

Pretty much as soon as she was gone, Prince crawled into your lap to pursue his own line of questioning. The few seconds that the young attorney was gone were mostly spent trying to stop Prince from getting too excited, you didn't know quite yet if you were going to help. It sounded interesting sure but not something that was likely to make you rise in the ranks.

A large stack of papers was slammed onto your desk. 

"So." She steadied herself, flipped through the papers to a yellow post-it note and continued. "This is the initial charge." She pushed the forms towards you.

Aggrevated assault... Use of magic without a licence... Magic in a public place... You couldn't figure out what Bitchface wanted with you, you specialised in divorce not animal welfare? What did this have to do with you? 

You said as much to Cherkasov who dismissed you immediately with a wave and started talking again. 

"A man, James Junewood, was sent to the hospital on the 7th of March, he was unconscious, had his tibia broken in 3 places and bruised ribs. When Mr Junewood woke up, he said a bitty was responsible. Turns out it was some local man's Underfell Papyrus who was charged. The bitty was going to be put down." Neither of you missed the way Prince froze up at that. "But while he was being detained, he tried to sue both his previous owner and the man he assaulted for several counts of murder."

That took a turn.

"Can he even do that?" 

"No." She sighed sadly. "Bitties aren't even considered as animals so normally his testimony wouldn't matter." You were still waiting to find out how this somehow involved you. "But a financial advisor that works with the other firm put herself forward to press charges on the man." She grabbed another series of papers and handed them to you. 

You saw nothing that would indicate that this should be a complicated case. Bitties couldn't have a defense in court, they shouldn't even be going through court, seeing as they weren't beneficiary of human or even animal rights yet. Any crime resulted in the bitty's death, that was the legal precedent and all similar cases had gone the exact same way.

"And how did this end up in our hands?"

This time she smiled.

"They don't have animal rights yet, sweetie. Yet is the key part of that sentence. Public opinion is changing. People aren't as scared of monsters as before. The McFarrah firm dropped this case because they didn't want a bitty to be put down under their watch, it could be really bad press. Staying out of this is the easiest thing to do. But I wanted this case." 

At this she pushed the remaining papers to you and started tapping away on her phone. She soon handed over her phone. She'd opened a news article. "Monsters and humans becoming equal?" Asked the scandalised article. You weren't one to keep up with the news and so you hadn't known that a meeting between the head of state and the king of monsters was just a short month away.

"They're discussing modifications to some definitions." Your ears perked up. 

"MONSTERS MIGHT BE CONSIDERED PEOPLE SOON!" If you'd thought that Prince was overjoyed after beating you at chess then you didn't know what word could possible describe him now. He was positively glowing and, if the little blue sparks surrounding him were anything to go by, he could barely contain his magic. Usually Bitchface would be quick to calm him down so no one saw the little monster using magic without a permit but neither one of you wanted to rain on his parade right now. There was a damned good reason he was happy.

"IMAGINE IF I COULD GET A JOB AND BE INDEPENDENT AND BE MACK'S ROOMATE AND-" He'd been standing on top of the stack of files, cape flowing in the nonexistent wind when you shushed him.

"What can I do to help?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess which bitty's showing up next? ≧ω≦
> 
> Lmao I can't wait pls remember to leave kudos or comment if you liked! Thanks in advance <3


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